The Day The Sun Went Missing

The leaves and branches brush past me but It’s hard to pay them any mind anymore. The night is silent except for the pounding of my boots on the ground and the crashing I create through the thick greenery. The sky is pitch black. And it’s the middle of the day. 

It’s not my fault that the guardian of the day decided that she could just leave her post. And yet here I am fixing it for her. 

“That idiot!” I cry into the darkness. I halt suddenly. Panting in the middle of the woods like a mere human. She has brought this humiliation upon me. 

A roar rips through my throat, dispersing out into nothingness. I let my anger power my steps, the path around me lit only by the soft glow I give off. I continue to dart through the darkness, leaping straight over a ravine without pause.

In the distance, I can see a yellow light glowing. I grit my teeth and tear after it.

“Solis, there’s no use running!” But it’s no use, soon the light has become a firefly in the vast darkness. 

“Ugh, what is all this racket?” a voice says behind me. I groan and slowly turn around.

“Hello, Terra,” I sigh, “What do you want?” 

The guardian of nature stands in the foliage, a hand smoothing out her long earthy green hair. 

“What I want is to get some rest,” she pauses, and looks around as if seeing her own territory for the first time, “Uh, why the hell is it dark out?”

I stomp my foot, “Solis has gone and left her territory in mid-afternoon.” 

Terra snickers, “How like her,” I glance back to where Solis had disappeared. I cross my arms and glare towards Terra, “Are you just going to waste time I could be using to chase Solis, or are you going to help me?”

She sighs, “Fine. But only so I can actually get some sleep.”

I nod, “So what’s the plan? Can’t you just find her and envelope her in earth or trees or something?”

She rolls her eyes scornfully, “Honey, my powers don’t work like that any more than yours do.”

“Then what good are you to me?” 

Now she feigns offense, “No good to you? Oh, don’t be like that. You know you would be twice more attractive if you weren’t so ill-mannered.”

I give her a look of disapproval. She sighs, “Okay, in theory, I can capture her in roots or vines, but I have to be able to see her in order to aim clearly. So we might need some extra help.”

“Please tell me you don't mean…”

She grins, “That is exactly what I mean.”

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” I yell up to Terra. She grins down at me where I’m dangling over the side of the ravine I had jumped earlier.  

“Couldn’t you just have just manipulated the rocks to bring me down?” I ask in annoyance, my left foot sending pebbles cascading down into the river at the bottom. 

She shrugs, “I’d much rather watch you struggle.”

“Why you little-”

“What are you doing?” a soft voice says below me. I look downward in surprise causing me to lose balance and fall. 

My eyes squint shut as the air rushes past my ears. 

I hit the water seconds later, although I must have been at least 60 feet up before.

“You ought to be more careful when climbing, Noctis,” I choke out a gasp when I notice that I have been enveloped in a column of water. I sigh, “Aqua.” 

“How may I be of service?” I ask the guardian of water as she slowly lowers the water back to its usual level.

“I noticed that it is dark out, is it not but just past noon?” I shake my head at the goddess partially blended into her environment.

She nods solemnly, “I see. She has broken the cycle. What do you require of me?” 

Terra and I explain the plan and Aqua brings me up out of the ravine. 

“You read?” I ask. Both of them nod silently and Aqua positions the three of us in a column of water. Terra counts us down, clearing a path through the woods. 

“Where do you sense her?” Aqua questions. I point Northwest and we’re off. The trees and vines part for us as we charge through the forest. I can feel Solis' heartbeat growing stronger in the distance, pounding through my mind like a reminder of what we risk if we fail to retrieve her. 

I can sense every part of her, her scent, her heartbeat. I can even feel the strain of her muscles as she bounces through the darkness. She isn’t accustomed to the darkness. Her own actions will be her downfall.

“She’s close,” I cry over the wind, but it’s pointless. They already know. They may not be able to sense her like I do but her bright, hazy light, reaching through the darkness is a clear indicator. 

“We should’ve just asked Caelum to help us,” Terra murmurs in annoyance. I scoff at her reference to the guardian of the sky, “I remind you this was your idea.” She pouts at me, “I don’t like my forest being water-logged.”

“Oh be quiet you don’t want to climb to the top of Caelum’s mountain. And we all know you’ve got a secret crush that you refuse to admit-” 

The panicked look that crosses her face is priceless and she quickly interjects, “That is so not true.”

“So that’s why you keep leaving your grove on Wednesdays,” Aqua speculates. 

“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow. Terra huffs, “You’re both insufferable.”

“Hush, we’re close,” I say putting a hand over her mouth, “She’s over there- OW! Did you just bite me? What are you four?”

“Quiet down both of you!” Aqua gasps, breaking her usually passive demeanor to snap at us. 

And there she is. Solis. Bent over gasping for air in the clearing ahead, lighting it up her surroundings like a replacement of the moon.

She straightens up and turns around. “Hello, sister. I see you’ve dragged Terra and Aqua into this. How mature of you.” 

I scoff and step out of the shadows, “Mature? You really are one to talk, leaving your post out of nowhere. mid-day at that.”

She sighs, “I would’ve expected you of all people to understand, Noctis. Being trapped in a cage, the same thing, day in and day out. At least the other guardians have something to look after, we just have to make sure that the sun and moon move along correctly.”

I laugh bitterly at her, “Is that really all it is to you?” All I can do is shake my head sadly, “We do have something to look after. It’s our responsibility to keep the world turning. Not only that, but it’s our responsibility to protect the people below us. We are the most powerful because we have the power to look down on the dealings of all people.”

Solis tilts her head, oblivious of Terra’s plants slowly blocking any exit and vines creeping towards her feet. 

“The humans are none of our concern,” 

I throw my hands up, “Well then what’s the point? Maybe that’s why you find the job pointless! You aren’t even paying any mind to what really matters! It’s not just about making sure things go smoothly, it’s about making sure everyone is protected! And by abandoning your post, you have completely put all the people you are designated to watch over in danger!”

I don’t care about the plan anymore, I’m seething. She has performed with reckless abandon, and the creatures we were created to protect are in danger.

“Do whatever the hell you want but don’t drag our people down with you!” I realize with a start that I’m floating just above the ground, glowing bright red.

Now she looks shocked and ashamed. “I didn’t realize- I…”

Now I’m yelling, my voice growing deeper and louder, “Of course you didn’t realize, otherwise you wouldn’t have acted so recklessly!”

Terra’s vines have ceased growing and I can feel the tension around me.

“Are you just going to stand there trembling? Every second you stand here Idle, the longer people are in danger!”

She nods, and to my surprise, she actually bows to me. Then, in a flash of brilliant light, she shoots towards the sky. 

Within seconds all is well. The sky is blue and the sun shimmers. I slowly lower to the ground and nearly vomit from adrenaline. Even immortals get sick sometimes.

From that moment on, the sky never missed a beat. Solis took Noctis’ words to heart and watched over all the creatures below her. And The world came to peace for centuries more.